‘Oh no. I’m from Lake Charles, Louisiana,’ said Megan, an element of great pride in her voice.
‘Beautiful part of America, Louisiana. Lovely people,’ said Uncle Daniel.
‘Well, aren’t you all a delight?’ said Megan.
‘Yes, we are,’ said Jessie.
‘Oh, and you’re the cutest,’ said Megan. Jessie blushed at the compliment. It seemed Megan was making a good first impression with everyone except Lottie.
Megan regaled them with a brief history of her ancestry, which she proudly explained had origins in Africa and Ireland. Lottie watched her family, all entranced by her.
Zach poured Megan a glass of wine and topped up his own. He tilted the bottle towards Emily’s glass and she shook her head. He paused as he put the bottle back. ‘You not drinking?’ he asked, looking puzzled.
‘I’m okay at the moment. Maybe later,’ said Emily. She glanced briefly in Lottie’s direction, but Lottie didn’t really notice; she had far too many other things on her mind now.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Angie and Scott settled themselves by the fire whilst Lottie went to the sideboard, where family photos crowded together as if vying for attention, to find the prepared stocking. The door opened slowly as Joe crept in to join them. Everyone turned to watch what he did. He slunk over to Zach and sat on the arm of the chair next to him, a couple of seats away from Megan.
Zach’s expression was stony. Despite no words being exchanged, Lottie appreciated his support.
Lottie handed out pens and a piece of paper to everyone. Usually the stocking game was her Christmas highlight, but right now, she felt like it was the last thing she wanted to play. She was the current reigning champion – four years in a row – but that was all going to change this year: she’d set it up, so she couldn’t take part. ‘This is the stocking game,’ she said, holding up the classic Santa stocking like it were Exhibit A. ‘Inside here are twenty mystery items from around the house: some Christmas-related, some not. The stocking is passed around everyone five times.’ Scott was already looking confused. ‘Each time, you are allowed to put your hand inside and feel the items. Any peeking will result in instant disqualification. With eachpass, we speed things up, so your time with the stocking gets shorter and shorter.’ She could feel Megan’s intense concentration and Jessie’s excitement. She glanced at Joe, who was staring at the fire. ‘When it’s been round five times, you have one minute to write down as many items as you can. The person with the most correct answers wins.’
‘What’s the prize, Auntie Lottie?’ asked Jessie. She leaned towards Emily. ‘Last year it was a chocolate orange.’
‘Ooh my favourite,’ said Emily, pulling Jessie to her for a hug. ‘But if I win I’ll still share it with you.’
‘A. Chocolate. Orange?’ asked Megan, pronouncing every syllable carefully.
Jessie opened her mouth to explain, but Lottie was already on it. ‘Sorry. Different prize this year. It’s a selection box.’
If anything Megan looked even more confused. Lottie retrieved it from the sideboard and held it up for her to see. ‘Ooh, candy,’ she said.
Lottie started the Christmas music they always used for this game and handed the stocking to her mother. ‘Oldest person goes first, then we’ll go round in seat order.’ Angie gave her a murderous look and snatched the stocking from her. The first round always took a little while. To Megan’s credit, she really entered into the spirit of it. Lottie watched Joe when it was his turn. His troubled expression made it look as though he was putting his hand into a bag of snakes, but Lottie knew it wasn’t the game that he was concerned about.
He briefly turned in her direction and then immediately his eyes shifted to Megan; Lottie’s stomach clenched. Every time she thought of Joe’s kiss, pain ached in her heart. She didn’t want to do this. It was too hard. She shouldjust abandon the silly game and walk out. Then she saw Jessie mouthing to herself the items she thought were in the stocking so that she wouldn’t forget before the time came to write them down, and she relented. Christmas was about children and about family, so for now, she would put her hurt pride and battered feelings to one side and finish the game.
‘Come on, Joe. It’s time to move on,’ said Lottie, taking the stocking from him.
‘Yes, Joe. It’s time to move on,’ repeated Megan, and the words were like daggers to Lottie’s poor wounded heart.
Lottie took a rushed breath and thrust the stocking at her mother. ‘Okay, faster this time.’
Mercifully the rounds got quicker and the game drew to a close. There was silence as everyone frantically jotted down what they thought was in the stocking and answers were crossed out and reinstated.
‘Time’s up,’ said Lottie. They swapped papers and Lottie pulled out an array of items from the stocking one at a time to a series of cheers and groans. Everyone guessed the candy cane, but the donkey ornament that usually lived on a windowsill upstairs had them all stumped, as did the skiing yeti tree decoration.
She felt Joe’s eyes on her. ‘Tot up the scores and hand back the papers,’ she said. She wished she could read Joe’s mind because his expression was telling her nothing.
Scott was declared the winner. Lottie heard Zach whisper to Emily, ‘He’s got an advantage – I bet he gets to do a lot of rummaging around in stockings.’
‘Shh,’ said Emily, clearly struggling to suppress a giggle as she glanced at Jessie, who was looking interested in the conversation.
‘That was so much fun,’ said Megan. She sipped her drink daintily.
‘It’s silly really,’ said Lottie, not knowing why.
There was a scratch at the door and a bark from the hallway. Megan recoiled. ‘Is that a dog?’ She looked to Lottie for an answer.
